Legacy
by Sciara
Summary: [OPReverseBang 2016, Complete] Ace is surprisingly good with kids; not that it's hard, literally no one could be as much trouble as his little brother. Each child that crosses his path comes away dreaming a little bigger, and Ace has been to a great number of islands. However, Ace never realized he would leave something behind.


**For OPReverseBang 2016.**

 **Thanks to MissJenca for putting up with my (lack of) communication because I am socially inept.**

 **Crossposted on AO3.**

* * *

 _What is a legacy?_

* * *

 ** _1512_**

Upon Sabo's insistence, the brothers approached Makino to ask her assistance in helping the two ravens learn how to read and write, while Sabo wanted to practice. She eagerly agreed with the request, and they were having lessons thrice a week. Ace had progressed well – despite the amount of pencils he had broken – but eventually got bored. Luffy couldn't keep his attention on the letters for more than a minute each.

This time, instead of words or sentences to practice, Ace was making indiscernible movement with his pencil, as he had been doing so for some time. He'd been recently practicing with shadows lately, namely shadows created by hats.

"You're good."

Ace's head shot up, his eyes meeting with Sabo's. "Huh?" He hadn't heard him come by.

The blond gestured a hand towards Ace's paper. "Drawing. You're pretty good." A grin emerged from Sabo's face, eyes glinting with humour. "Don't tell me you've been having private lessons with Makino, Ace!"

A figure dashed into between them, stopping when its whole body made contact with the body of the counter. Luffy peeled himself off it and stared at his brothers. "Ace's been learning from Makino without me!?" The straw-hatted boy looked up at Ace in confusion. "Why would you do that, Ace? We're all supposed to go to town together!"

Ace gritted his teeth; he threw his pencil at the duo in retaliation for their comments. "First of all, no," he said, scowling, "No, I haven't been learning from Makino. And second," he directed his glare primarily to Luffy, "I haven't been going to town without reason – better things to do in the forest, anyway."

(The last part was a lie – the town was actually alright, but there was no way Ace was admitting _that_.)

"Shihihihi," Luffy grinned, "Okay, Ace!" Their little brother bounced off, jumping into the conversation Makino and the mayor were having. They were too far away to hear the topic, but the brothers didn't care. Sabo faced Ace once again, ready to tease, but one look at his face and Sabo dropped it. Instead, he placed one hand on Ace's shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

Ace didn't react and continued to fiddle with the sheet of paper on the bar counter.

He bit his lip as he watched Sabo chat with Luffy, the latter laughing happily. Sabo caught Ace's eye and the freckled child swallowed.

Shit, Ace thought, Sabo's gonna ask me questions after this.

* * *

"Alright, Ace. Spill."

Ace scowled, glaring into the ocean. He heard Sabo scuffle around before the runaway settled beside Ace, hat off and face holding a somber expression. The silence enveloped around them, creating an awkward atmosphere. Sabo's expression morphed into one of patience, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "We were just kidding, Ace."

Ace snorted, finally looking Sabo's way. "You were. Luffy wasn't."

Sabo made a noise of agreement, the smile on his face looking smug. "Luffy can't tell the difference between a joke and a serious comment." The smirk on Sabo's face disappeared, and he looked Ace right in the eye. "Seriously, though. What's up?"

…

"Bad habit." Ace dropped his head down, eyes now aimlessly staring at the water that came upon every tide. Sabo didn't respond, didn't even make a noise, so he continued to talk. "Drawing, symbols – they, they calm me down. Good way to relieve my anger when I can't beat people up."

When Ace finished talking, the two stared out the sea in silence. It unnerved Ace that Sabo hadn't said anything yet, so when he took a look at Sabo, his eyes widened as the noble tried to smother his grin. Ace scowled, which only made Sabo start laughing. Ace growled, making a move to pounce on Sabo when the other rolled away, clutching his stomach in an attempt to control his laughter.

"Stop laughing!"

Sabo choked. "S-sorry, it's just – who would've thought! It's _you,_ Ace! I-I would've expect Luffy, but it's _you!_ "

"You suck, Sabo!" Ace shouted, throwing sand at the blonde. Sabo only laughed harder, covering his mouth to prevent sand from getting in.

"Okay, okay," Sabo panted, though he was still grinning. "You know, if you make one for Luffy, he'd keep it forever."

Ace shot him a glare. "I'm not making one for _Luffy –_ he can barely keep his hat on him _._ Besides, it's only a stress reliever."

Sabo kept his cheeky grin. "Oh? Then I dare you."

The raven raised his eyebrows in surprise before he smirked in determination. "And the dare is?"

"A drawing of all of us. 'Professionally' drawn by you."

" _What!?_ Were you not listening to me? I do this so I can do something else other than punching people, and you want me to draw you a damn picture?"

"Aww, but if you did it, Luffy would be so happy! Heck, I bet if Makino gave you some lessons in manners, you'd be great with kids!"

Ace scowled. "The fuck, 'Bo? Kids cry, a lot. I _hate_ it when people cry – damned stupid. Also, I'm still not doing the picture, unless something out there get's me really angry to draw a processional drawing, or whatever you call it."

Sabo raised an eyebrow. "It's professional, not processional – I don't even know what that means. Also, does that mean you're backin' out?"

"I…" Ace's face scrunched up, contemplating the dare; it was Sabo's mocking grin that was making him hesitate, because if he backed out, the boy would never let him forget it. "Fine, but I'll only do it during my own time."

Sabo shook his head. "If I agree to that, you'll never finish it!"

"What do you want, Sabo!?"

The blond grinned. "Fine. A year, at most, alright? If you're not done, I'll take what you got and I'll show it to Makino."

"Wha – _don't you dare!_ "

"Ah, so you agree to the terms?"

"I – wha – fine," Ace grumbled, arms crossed and fists clenched. "Damn it, Sabo."

The blonde stated quipped him with a grin. "Good, good! I bet you'll be so good that everyone will be jealous."

Ace snorted, smirking at the reactions that people would likely have if ever saw one of his drawings. "You think? I think you're way over your head. Praising me? A _monster?_ " Ace's face soured considerably, the smirk disappearing and leaving only a blank expression.

Sabo swatted Ace's shoulder, making the raven glare at him. "What?"

"Stop it."

"It's true."

Sabo's eye _twitched_. Ace blinked. Then, in a moment, Sabo's hand was fisted in Ace's hair, and with a large amount of force, pushed Ace's head down and _into the sand._

"Oh, _you're so dead._ " His voice was muffled as the freckled child attempted to push his brother off, but the action was in vain.

"Alright then, Ace," Sabo began, "another bet." He glanced down at his brother's face, which wasn't at all visible due to the sand. Ace's muffled breathing came back as an answer. "When _– when_ , not if – I prove to you that you are _not_ a monster, you are going to give me a self-portrait."

Ace kicked Sabo off him, resulting in laughter from the blonde. Ace scowled. "The hell's a self-portrait?"

Sabo smirked – and Ace's irritation _spiked_ – and oh, was it smug. "I'll tell you later, because it's going to happen one day, and there's no point in telling you something that's meant to happen, no?"

Sabo's laughter and Ace's short-lived anger fits was the last things the ocean heard that day.

* * *

 ** _1519_**

The wind was especially strong today; he would be able to travel a few nautical miles within a half hour if it kept up. Ace grasped the edge of his hat, pulling it down slightly to cover his face from the sun, his other hand going down to his side to grasp his dagger.

The forest was unusually quiet during that moment, as if it was its tribute for his departure. Ace already had everything prepared in his boat – had all his important items on hand, enough food to last him a few days, his not-goodbye to Dadan – but there was one thing he still had to do. Beside him, Luffy silently fiddled with his hat, playing with the loose straws and adjusting it on his head. Neither had to actually look in their path for they had every detail of it memorized despite all the problems one would usually encounter in a hidden path.

Suddenly, Luffy straightened and dashed ahead of Ace. The freckled teen rolled his eyes in annoyance but said nothing. In less than a minute, Ace caught up to Luffy, who was currently bouncing slightly, clearly brimming with excitement.

"– gonna set sail today, Sabo! You excited? I am!" Luffy was already yammering about Ace's departure and he hadn't been there for more than ten seconds. Typical, Ace thought.

"Hey," Ace interrupted, resting his hand on top of Luffy's straw hat, "give Sabo time to process all that, alright?"

Luffy nodded eagerly, waiting for only two seconds before he started talking again. "Ace has a hat now! All of us have hats! And because Ace is our brother he'll be one of the best pirates ever! But I'm setting sail in three years so I'll be even better – "

Ace cuffed the back of Luffy's head. "Shut up, Lu. All three of us know that I'll be the Pirate King." Ace ended his sentence with a smug grin. A stronger gust of wind blew around them, hitting them directly in the face. Both hats threatened to fly away.

Luffy stuck his tongue out in response. "Sabo knows _I'm_ gonna be the Pirate King! He even wanted to take your hat out!"

"Ha! You wish! Also, he wanted to take _your_ hat out, too!" Ace flicked the straw hat off Luffy to ruffle his head. "Gonna need to talk to Sabo alone though, Lu. Meet you back near the boat, alright?"

Luffy nodded, "Okay. Ace! I'll go get Makino and the others, too!" At Ace's nod, Luffy gave him a small, almost sad smile, and dashed off back into the forest, his form disappearing within a minute.

Ace watched his brother's form disappear in the leaves, the wind still gusting loudly in the clearing. With a sigh, he turned to look at Sabo's makeshift grave. "You heard him – I'm leaving." Ace paused, biting his lip in hesitance. "You said that nobles don't officially become nobles until they're eighteen, right? Luffy and I – we made a promise. A promise to set sail at seventeen."

Ace smiled; it was a bittersweet smile. "Don't make me spell it out for you, Sabo. If we can't take you with us…" He grasped his bare left bicep as he continued to speak, "we'll take your ideals with us – your dream." The freckled teen dropped his head in silence – a tribute to his deceased brother. Then, a forlorn smile came upon his face. "You're right, you know? I mean, I'm not really surprised, but still… Who would've thought that I'd actually be good with kids?" He tried to smile, but his expression was frozen as he waited for a response that was never going to come.

"Honestly, it's a _pain._ I'm there with Luffy celebrating his birthday and _all_ of them are asking me these ridiculous questions, like 'Aren't you afraid of getting caught?' or saying things like 'You'd make a bad pirate!' It's insulting, and then they started crying." Ace's mouth twisted into something akin of mockery, humour and anger. "I don't know what their problem is! All I said was that I was going to be the best pirate this world knew, and I showed off my powers and they just started screaming. I don't know how, but I made these lil' green lights pop up and made them into different colours and then they just _stopped_. I'm confused, Sabo." Ace's brows furrowed. "Really, _really_ , confused. After that, Makino came up to talk to me and said I was good with kids. At that point I was convinced you two hatched this stupid plan, but…"

Ace let out a long, tired sigh, shoulders slumping as he sat down cross-legged in front of the makeshift grave. "I want to argue – I really do, but every time I mention my Devil Fruit, I'm reminded why I decided to eat it. Ever since – ever since the fire, Luffy's unable to see fire up close without shaking in fear." His eyes narrowed as he bit his bottom lip in frustration. " _Luffy_. You know, the kid who was smiling the entire time we discussed about killing him? Yeah, him. He's… he's gotten better." Ace raised an enclosed hand and opened the fist, letting fire rest at the palm of his right hand. The freckled teen watched the fire dance calmly in his hand, the light flickering in his eyes. "Both mentally and physically, but I swear on the seven seas that if you tell him I will gladly kick your ass. Anyways, the next person who tells me I'm good with kids is going to have something burned. Hair, clothes – you name it, I'll probably do it. Depending on how much I like them." Ace grinned, but after a moment he let the fire and grin die out, eyes downcast and hand unbearably cool despite the feeling of warmth coursing through him.

Silently, Ace took out his dagger. Inside the dagger sheath was a piece of paper furled together neatly. He unfolded the paper, and using the small knife he had in his bag, stuck the paper to the ground, the small knife keeping it in place.

He got up quietly, shoulders drooping as he slipped his dagger back in its sheath. "I promised, didn't I?" Ace tipped his head back to watch the sun reach it's peak before turning around and walking away from the grave, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I promised to make that picture. Sorry it's seven years late."

* * *

"Captain, what in the seven seas are you doing?"

"Hush." Ace's facial expression twisted around, each one just as questionable as before as he tried to take in all the perspectives of the _Dawn Isle_ from an oddly specific angle.

("Trust me," Ace said.)

His first mate's eye twitched in annoyance. "Ace. Seriously." The man sighed, crossing his arms and blowing at his hair, looking at the sky. "We should really get going right about _now_. We need to make it to Auror Island in a week, and the more we stand here doing whatever the hell you're doing –"

"We won't be able to get there in time; yeah, yeah, I got it, Ronin," Ace interrupted, smiling cheekily at the annoyed glare sent at him. "Let me just…" The captain shuffled his papers, sliding his charcoal pencil somewhere into his hair as the winds abruptly changed an Ace nearly lost hold of his papers. "Gah – damn it. Where did I – here it is!"

Ronin leaned in to see the two sheets his captain held in one hand apart from the others in the right hand. Then, his eye his mouth twitched as he tried to figure out _what the hell_ his captain's intentions were. "Ace. I'm not sure if you can tell, but these two? They're practically the same drawing."

"They are – or at least I tried to make them the same."

" _Why_ do you need two copies?"

Ace grinned. "Because Iceburg requested a copy, and –"

Something slid right beside Ace and hit the freckled teen, sending both to the ground and the majority of the papers into the air. Ace huffed in mild annoyance, glaring at the figure who sent him crashing.

"Ohhh, so sorry, captain!" They wailed, dragging Ace from the ground and giving him a tight hug. The teen squirmed in their grip.

"R-Reina!" He growled, and Reina released their grip on Ace. The latter moved beside Ronin, scowling and rubbing his face. "Damn it, Rei. Don't do that."

A sheet of paper smacked itself right onto Ronin's face. The first mate's expression didn't change.

Reina snickered, only turning into full blast laughter when Ace delicately peeled the paper off. Ronin's face twitched, a hand going to his waist to grasp his sword.

"Stop it, you two," Ace grumbled, un-crumpling his papers and smoothing them out. He finally glanced over where Reina came from and tilted his head, grinning. "Hey, Iceburg!" He held out three sheets of paper towards the man. "Here's the sketches you asked for."

"Ah! Thank you, Ace." Iceburg eagerly took the sheets of paper and looked at the sketches on them, a wide grin on his face as the glee become more and more obvious. "It's practically a replica, Ace! And certainly a cleaner design."

"Captain," Ronin growled out, on hand on his sword and the other pushing Reina's head away, "could we get going? Like, now? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to see Auror Isand – and, and Thena's brother, of course _Reina!_ "

Ace waved them away. "Yeah, yeah. You guys get on the ship and confirm the direction with Tev. I'll finish up here."

Reina clapped their hands eagerly, a mischievous grin sporting their face. "Goody! Come on, Ronin~" They grabbed Ronin's arm and dragged him onboard. "Operation: Direction Confirmation is a-go!"

Iceburg and his subordinates snickered at Ronin's long suffering face, which turned into full blown laughter as the swordsman yelped Ace sent fire bullets behind them. Ace turned, now only noticing Water 7's children residents. One of them tugged on Ieburg's pant leg, and as he bent down, one of them swiped the sketches from his hand. With a frown, he looked the child in the eye. "Aw, that's not nice. That's very important, you know."

The child pouted in response. "But, but it's so good! I want to be able to do something like this!"

Ace chuckled and he crouched beside Iceburg and chuckled. The mayor raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, but seeing the smile that graced the pirate's face, he merely grinned as well and went to chat with other civilians.

"Hey, kiddo." Ace said.

The child in question looked quizzically towards Ace. "Oh! Hello, mister Ace! Will you play with me?"

Ace shook his head. "Can't. I'm about to leave port. Maybe one day, I'll see you again," Ace stated, winking towards the kid.

"Aw…" The child pouted, clearly upset that his new playmate was soon to leave. "Can you draw me another one of those big ship designs?"

The freckled pirate sighed. "No can do. That one took me _weeks_ to accomplish, you know?"

"But, but – can you show us more moves to protect ourselves? Please?"

Ace let out a small smile, and he ruffled the child's hair. "Sadly, teaching you guys would take up way too much time, and I really got to go soon." The child let out a small, scornful scowl, and Ace frowned at the sight. "Hey now. Don't keep your face like that or it might freeze." He wagged a playful finger. "We don't want that now, do we?"

The child's scorn-filled face didn't disappear; if anything, Ace's comment only aggravated it. The raven winced as he contemplated his next moves. A small, sly grin formed on his face, and he sat up. Flexing his hands, he clenched this into fists and closed his eyes. With a smile, he opened his eyes and hands simultaneously, letting the bright, fluorescent multi-coloured fireflies roam. The child's eyes were immediately captivated by the multiple colours.

Ace watched the scene carefully as other children – and teenagers – looked at the bright lights and reached out to touch them, only for the firefly to lightly float away from their touch. In a frenzy, they scrambled for a competition to see who would be able to capture one of his makeshift fireflies as they tried to entrap one, but they all gracefully danced away, harmless as they looked.

 _Bright colours, huh?_

Ace smiled, remembering Luffy's excited expression when he figured out his older brother could make balls of light. The straw-hatted teen was jumping from joy and had personally asked Ace to make them into three distinct colours, even if for just his birthday.

Ace met Iceburg's eye; the teen tipped his head in a small bow, with Iceburg waving his hand in response. The pirate silently slinked away, the fireflies floating higher and higher into the air as he boarded his ship.

"Alright guys," Ace started, "let's go! Off to Auror Island!"

…

"Captain?"

"Huh?" He glanced beside him before looking back towards Water 7, leaning lightly on the railing. "Oh, Thena. You excited?"

The woman huffed in exasperation, but the fondness and excitement in her eyes were a clear indication of her true feelings. "No, not really. Polly's antsy and the moment I set foot I'm going to be attacked by my horn-headed demon of a brother."

"Aw, that's no way to talk about your brother. I'm pretty sure just three days ago, you told us he's the most innocent angel the world could _possibly_ grant!" Ace said, teasing her with one eye closed. "But, seriously though, you've made it sound like you're so old."

"I'm in my thirties, my brother is in his twenties. He's still a kid at heart." Thena flashed her now irritated captain a grin. "Honestly, I'll miss you guys?"

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Well, first, you guys can't _possibly_ survive without me." She flipped her hair in a smug fashion that made Ace's mouth twitch. "I mean; I am the best sniper in the world."

"Oh, we know. Thing is, we're pretty sure we can survive without a sniper."

"You're a brat, Portgas."

"Now, that's not the right way to talk to your captain who's so graciously decided to take time out of his schedule to bring you home to your apparently lovely younger brother."

"My apologies, Captain! Oh, woe is me." She laughed manically as Ace punched her shoulder, though it didn't hurt at all. "Truly, though. I'll miss you guys. Especially you, Ace." She ruffled his hair in a playful, older sibling manner. He pushed the arm off him and hid his reddened face. "You can be so sweet hen you want to be! Like those kids back there." She gestured to Water 7, glowing balls of light still visible despite their distance.

"I will hurt you," Ace complained, face still coloured red from her earlier comment. "I will gladly hurt you, and then you won't be able to retire from piracy and then we can dump you on another island to suffer."

Thena faked a dramatic gasp, her hand going to her chest as if her heart was crying out. "No, please! Anything but that." She winked, the cuffed the back of the raven's head. "Ah, but this is one of the reasons I'll miss you most. You have the best sense of humour."

"Nobody can beat Reina's sense of humour."

"Apparently you can. Reina's is great, but their humour doesn't fit all of my tastes," Thena exclaimed running a hand through her hair. "Yours, however, is another story."

Ace scoffed. "Eh."

Thena's eyes softened. "I'll see you later, captain." Then, she left Ace on deck, going below deck and likely to the extra storage room."

Ace stared silently at the sea. It was still early, enough for the sun to be up but not so much that it was still partially covered. The orange waters gazed back at him listlessly; the freckled pirate could see his reflection in the clear waters. He tipped his head back to the island of Water 7, watching the colours of his fireflies start to die out.

With a long, seemingly tired sigh, he gestured his hand upward and the fireflies obeyed his command, going up to the sky and were much too high to affect anything on the ground. With a flick of his hand, the fireflies glowed, and then exploded. Ace watched the very small explosion, his brows furrowed as he tried to figure out how to make the explosions of the move stronger, while keeping the ability to change their size, colour and the ability to adjust the explosion strength.

"One day," he whispered.

* * *

"Woah."

Thena blinked. "What?"

"… Yeah, no. I agree with Tev. _Woah_." Ronin was gaping. Ace found it incredibly hilarious.

"Auror Island, or, as more commonly know to the world and the general vicinity of South Blue, 'The Island of Trees'," someone beside Ace said. He recognized the voice and excited tone of knowledge and identified them as Ana, the ship's doctor and crew's major source of miscellaneous information.

"'Island of Trees'? What a name," Reina said, swaying on the railing as the ship got even closer to see more intricate details, and some of the trees that Thena herself had once described. "Hey, Thena! Didn't you say that that tree over there," they pointed to one corner of the island, where a massive tree overtook the entire island, "was extremely rare? That there are like, three in existence?"

"Yeah, they are," Thena confirmed, large smile on her face as It was obvious she was lost in the memories of her island. "This one here is one of them I heard there was also one in East Blue, but I couldn't find it on my journey. Shame, too. It's said that each tree has its own very distinctive shape and colour, but the size is always the same."

"Ooooh!" Reina seemed very interested in the information, and Ace only vaguely remembered that Ana only recently confirmed Reina being autistic. Any information she could get, I suppose, Ace thought.

"Alright, but, why is it called Island of Trees?" Tev asked, having temporarily abandoned his obsession with his maps and was also looking at the island with intense scrutiny. "Don't tell me it's because it's full of trees."

"You got it, Tev."

"You should suggest a new title, Thena."

" _Hey – "_

"The islanders seem to have very good relations with the island closest to them, which is more commonly known as 'The Island of Flowers'," Ana happily cut in, shifting through the pages of her book. Ace sighed in relief for she had cut off the possibility of an argument. "The island itself is actually… Baterilla."

"Huh. We should go to Baterilla next, captain. What do you think?" Tev asked.

Ace was biting the inside of his cheek the moment Baterilla was mentioned; he didn't know _too_ much about the place, but the few things he did know were enough to make his insides clench in a maelstrom of emotions.

"Ace?" Ana asked, a worried expression clear on her face as she watched her captain struggle through a series of emotions.

"Ah," Ace responded softly. "Well. Only if you guys really want to. I want to find someone at the New World, but I guess we can take a detour if you guys really want." His voice was shaking slightly, and he knew it; he knew that Ana could see hear it, could see the way his fists shook lightly as he mentioned Baterilla, and he knew that Ronin's eyes had narrowed in Ace's response despite not seeing him because Ronin was _his first mate_ , but he also knew nobody else was _that_ keen enough to notice.

"Nah," Ronin cut in before anybody else on deck could get a word in. "It's alright. I, personally, really want to get to the New World as well. Main reason I decided to become a pirate, really."

"Really?" Tev shot back. "And here I was thinking you did it because you were a player who wanted atten –"

"THENA!"

" _Polly!_ " Thena shouted back; she moved back from the front of the deck, got a running start, and jumped onto the mainland while the ship hadn't even docked yet. Ace watched the sniper roll the landing off before running again, running into a person who enveloped their arms around her. Thena looked back at her crew, taking in the predictably surprised faces on everyone's faces, sans Ace and Ana. "Well? Get down here!"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Vin! This is fine – set down the anchor!" He shouted loudly so that their introverted ship maintenance holder could hear just fine without needing to ask again. They felt the ship lurch to a stop, and the ones on deck jumped onto mainland just like Thena.

The female herself was casually dragging along a male figure dressed in red behind her, but despite the exasperated expression the figure had, the fondness was clear. Ace hid a smile; _siblings, huh?_

"Hello, fellow crew mates and pirates! Herein I present to you, the idiot to my intelligence, the baker to my cooking, the drought to my rain – "

"Hi. The name's Apollo, but Thena calls me Polly," the male interrupted, promptly ignoring Thena's glare and slapped her wrist when Thena – so maturely – stuck her tongue out. "I can only hope she's said good things more than bad things."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Do you doubt her that much that you would assume she'd talk about bad things only?"

"No," Apollo – _Polly_ – responded, though he looked properly embarrassed from Ace's question, "it's just that… It's _Thena._ She lives to say crap about me." He casually ducked the fist that was aimed at the side of his head.

Ronin nodded. "It's true. I think Thena's only nice to you, captain."

"That's because the lot of you are sticks in the mud," Thena said disdainfully. "Ace actually appreciates me."

It was at that moment Ace decided to cut in before they had another argument that might break another island. In Ace's opinion, breaking an island that Thena was likely born in was the _worst idea_ he'd ever heard.

 _He'd lived with Luffy_.

"Can you two agree to _not_ inflict bodily harm on each other – or _anyone_ , Ronin – for this visit?" Ace asked, despite knowing that what the answer was going to be.

"No," Ronin and Thena simultaneously answered. Ace faked a tired sigh. He was going to miss these stupid interactions.

"Anyway," continued Thena, "I want to show you guys around. Ace," the raven looked at her, "Polly wants to personally show you around, if you don't mind."

Ace shook his head. "Nah." He glanced towards Thena's brother. "Where do we start?"

"Anywhere!" Thena chirped in and cutting Apollo off. "Anyways," she snatched Reina by the arm, and they gleefully followed. "I'm gonna drag the lot of you towards the main square because you all need to learn about the _Ezkel Platra_ , or the Wishing Palm! Ana, take lots of paper because you'll love this."

"Take care, Ace," Ronin said, but the weary look on his face was the best thing Ace had received that day alone. Then, he mouthed, ' _Please spare me.'_

 _'No.'_

Ronin looked offended, but Ace paid him no mind as they were all dragged by Thena towards the southern direction at the island, leaving Ace and Polly at the docks. "So. Polly."

"I'd rather you not ask, sir."

Ace raised his eyebrows at the title. "Sir? I don't know what Thena's told you when we were still on the ship, but you can call me Ace."

"Ah, alright sir – Ace. Uh," Apollo bit his lip. "Actually, the main reason I wanted to show you around was because… I wanted to talk to you."

Ace faked a surprised expression; he had already gathered that the moment Thena said that her brother wanted to show him around. It was glaringly obvious to a person like Ace. "Oh? Any particular reason you mind giving me?" He asked when they started walking east.

Apollo shook his head, keeping silent. Ace took the time to look around and take in the island. It fit the name, Ace thought, seeing that there were many types of trees that grew right beside each other and they all looked to be growing wonderfully well despite the sheer temperature changes each plant required.

They stopped at a beach-like area, the coast sandy and waters crystal clear. Apollo walked to the edge of the sand, the water occasionally sloshing at his sandals. Ace watched in silence underneath the shade of palm trees. He noticed the surprisingly-peaceful waterfall at the other side of the coast.

"… Sir?"

Ace flicked his eyes back to the male watching the sea. "Hmm?" At that moment, he couldn't have cared if Apollo kept using the title.

"… Do you know why my sister became a pirate, only to 'retire' so young?"

Ace was silent for a few seconds before he sighed. He could play along with the elder male's games if he so wanted. "No. Do you mind enlightening me?"

Apollo sighed. "She was… she was looking for an answer."

"… An answer?"

"… Yeah. An answer. She's – she was questioning a lot of things even before she decided to set sail. The question it self – I can't tell you what it is. It's not in my place."

Ace snorted. "If you had tried to tell me, I would've whacked you in the head, respect be damned." As curious as Ace was, there was no way he was going to be told a secret without the person's consent.

Apollo laughed, finally turning his back towards the waters and looking back at the freckled pirate. Ace smirked. "Regardless… you want to take a guess why she's done her life as an unregistered marine, aka pirate?"

Ace didn't need to think about it for more than a second. "She's found her answer, done."

"Yeah. While you guys were still on the ship, she told me," Apollo explained. Ace noticed a change in his demeanor; earlier he seemed tense and worried. Now, Apollo was relaxed and almost carefree. "I…" Apollo stopped. Ace blinked blankly, a tad confused, but nevertheless remained silent. "Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you do it?"

"… Do what?"

"Help my sister. I've – I've tried myself." When Ace narrowed his eyes, Apollo was quick to elaborate. "Do – don't take it the wrong, please. I'm not angry, just curious. I've known Athena longer than you do, I know that for sure, but… You managed to help her, when I couldn't."

Ace could hear the underlying words underneath. _When her family couldn't_. He sighed resignedly. "You want to know a secret?"

"Huh?"

"I was just there," Ace said. Apollo blinked blankly. "I didn't tell her that her ideas were stupid when they wouldn't work in a battle, or told her that it was okay when it really wasn't." Ace shrugged nonchalantly, thinking about those times he had to support his crew – _any_ of his crew. "I was just _there_. Beside her, beside any of my crew. If they had it so bad, they can even go annoy me, rant at me; I've seen that me just being there helps."

"And how? How do you put up with it? Knowing that they could be the most stupidest things they're complaining about and you could care less – "

"If it bothers them, then I care," Ace cut in sharply, glaring at Apollo. "Sure, it might be stupid. But if it's so bad for them that they bug me when I'm sleeping, I'm going to listen." Then. Ace's gaze softened as he noticed Apollo's shoulders slump, seemingly in defeat. "… I'll give you a challenge."

Apollo glanced at him. "A challenge?"

Ace nodded, crossing his arms. "Yep. Here's the thing. Thena has our Den-Den number. Chances are, she'll be calling at least once a week, if only to piss Ronin off. And when it's back to me, I have a feeling I know what she's going to want to talk about." Apollo's eyes widened in understanding. "You're getting it! That's good. So, your challenge is this: be there for your sister."

"I'm always with Thena – we're practically inseparable, unless you count circumstance."

Ace shook his head. "Not like that. Physically, yeah. You have to be there _for_ her, not just with her." He glanced at the darkening sky; the crew would have to stay the night. A flame flickered on his open palm startling Apollo who had jumped back. Ace raised his fire-coated arm. "Be a light source for when someone can't see." Apollo blinked, eyes attracted to the fire on Ace's arm. He swallowed as Ace let the fire die out, their only source of light was the sun setting on the horizon. Ace tilted his head. "All you need to do is give them a reason to keep going, alright?"

Thena's brother sighed. He glanced back to watch the sun's half dip into the horizon, oranges mixing in with clear blue and creating a harmonious mix of complementary colour. Ace bit down a smile as he was reminded of Luffy's insistence to watch the sun set; he wondered if his brother was watching as well.

Apollo turned and walked up to Ace, the latter standing up from the flat rock he was sitting on. Once they were face to face, Apollo held his hand out. "Thank you," he said, "for helping my sister."

Ace merely blinked before extending his hand to shake Apollo's, a small grin showing itself. "I… You're welcome. I'm glad I was able to help, even if just a little bit."

"We should get back," Apollo said, "Thena probably isn't done showing them around, and she worries."

"She's not going to quiz me, is she?" Ace asked.

Apollo shook his head. "Nah. She's going to give you her personal tour, and because I didn't really give you a tour you won't get bored when she does hers." The sun only had a quarter left before it fully disappeared and was replaced by the moon. "We should really get going. The pathways look much more appealing at night."

They went through the same path they took to get to the coast, and Ace was mildly surprised to see that the townspeople were now lighting the lamps. He raised his arm, and, with a flick of his wrist, sent fire flying towards the lamps and easily lighting them. The islanders sent him thankful expressions and gestures, which Ace returned. The raven looked impressed – Apollo was right when he said the pathways looked better at night; when everything was lit with soft, flickering fire that was bright enough to show details but not so that it blinding, the light orange glow it produced blended well with hardened colours of wood and leaves and ash. He whistled in appreciation. "This is _much_ better than what I was expecting."

"Always is, captain," someone said. Ace blinked and grinned at Ana, who, at first glance at the group, looked like the only sane person.

(Reina's sanity was questionable, Ronin played along, Tev had none, and Thena was from the island. Ana was definitely the only sane person on land.)

"How was your tour?" Ace asked.

Ronin shivered, as if he was severely traumatized in the hour they were on the island. It was tev who responded in his stead. "It went great. Except for the fact that Thena talked for the entire tour – no questions, no comments, none. Nada. Zip."

"They loved it," Thena added smugly. "I need to give you _my_ tour, Ace! It's ten times better than Polly's tour!"

Apollo's eye twitched at the comment, but Ace only chuckled. "I think I'm fine. We'll stay for the night, but we should get going soon after daybreak."

Thena pouted, but nevertheless agreed. "You better not just leave, alright? I want to say bye to Vin and the others!"

"As if you'd let us leave beforehand."

* * *

"You're up awfully early," Ace commented.

Thena turned her head to see Ace. She sighed before turning it back, her hair billowing from the wind as she looked down from the cliff. The day was quiet; the majority of the sound coming from the water crashing onto the opened cavern of the cliff. "Yeah," she responded quietly, "wanted to get goodbye's in before…"

"Hey," Ace interrupted, "you have the Den-Den number, remember? You're free to call as long as it's not in the ungodly hours of the day." Ace was hoping she'd respond positively.

And positively she did respond, because Thena threw her head back and laughed, finally moving away from the cliff and back to – in Ace's opinion – _much_ more stable land that wasn't going to collapse in any moment. "That snark is going to be the end of you."

"In your dreams, Thena."

She snorted in response. "Whatever. Take care, eh Ace?" She jerked her head towards the pathway leading to the docks, and the path for her to see the _Dawn Isle_ 's final departure. "Take the walk with me?"

"Duh." He stepped beside her and they began walking. Ace could see Thena's unease and worry. He patted her back. "Come on. We'll be fine."

"I know, I know," she grumbled, "but I can't help but worry. Big sister instincts, you know? She shook her head in an attempt to clear her head. "I better see you guys cause havoc, alright?"

"Wow. That low of an expectation of us?" Ace mocked, and then brought a hand to his chest in a dramatic manner, similar to the one she did on the ship just five days earlier. She snickered at his affronted expression. They stopped on the dock, Thena still on the soil and Ace on the wooden planks. "I wanted to give you something."

"Huh?"

Ace rummaged through his pockets, being careful not to crumple any sheets of paper he had haphazardly stuffed into it. With a triumphant smile, he took a neatly folded sheet and handed it to her. "Here."

Thena's eyes widened in surprise as her eyes filled with recognition as she hesitantly took the paper, and was almost nervous to hold onto it. Ace found it humorous, considering that she was one of their most composed fighters when they got into very dangerous fights. "Are you sure? I mean, if I'm not wrong – and let's be honest, I'm never wrong – you even took the time to _ink_ this."

"Yes, I'm serious." He flashed her a confident smile. "Why do you think I made two designs? Unless, of course, my hearing was so messed up I didn't hear you so that you wanted a personally coloured-and-inked design of the _Dawn Isle._ "

The female was silent for a moment before she turned towards Ace and trapped him in a tight hug; any other time, Ace would've grumbled and complained, but for this, Ace smiled and reciprocated the action. They were like that for some time, because when Thena finally released the hug Ace could already see some of the late sleepers out of their accommodations. "Thank you, Ace." She said earnestly.

Ace waved it off, grinning happily at her. "No problem. Stay good, alright?" She nodded, and he tipped his hat at her before turning around and walking towards the ship, hands stuffed in his pockets.

…

"Hey, Ace?"

He turned to face Thena, likely for the last time. "Yeah?"

His former-sniper sighed, shoulders dropping as she finally, truly relaxed and, to Ace's surprise, she _bowed_.

"Thank you, for taking care of my family."

Ace blinked; according to her, Apollo hadn't ever set sail, preferring to stay inland. Then, within a moment, he understood her words. Ace smiled, tilted his head, and responded:

"Of course. We're the Spade Pirates!"

* * *

 ** _1520_**

Ace was getting irritated; he wasn't answering, so why was Thatch _still_ knocking? It was progressively getting louder, and Ace's temper was progressively getting more flared.

Suddenly, the knocking stopped. Ace sighed quietly before snuggling back into his bed, letting his eyes close as he let sleep take him away.

The sound of a door hitting a wall loudly made Ace's eyes open suddenly, and next thing he knew Thatch was shaking him back-and-forth by his shoulders. Ace made a noise that sounded like a growl, and Thatch cheekily smiled. "Oh, good! You're awake! Been trying to get you out of your room, but you see, since you won't respond – "

Ace swatted Thatch's hands away. "What's the point of a lock on the door when you're going to just pick it?" He asked as Thatch moved back to let Ace properly get up from his bed.

Thatch made a dismissive sign with his hands. "Emergency purposes, you know? Anyway," the chef grabbed Ace's wrist then proceeded to drag him out of his room and into the galley, where the others where already eating. "It's breakfast, and we're hitting land soon so get eating, brat."

Ace scowled half-heartedly. "What're we going for the island for, anyway?"

"Ah," Thatch responded, "well, two reasons: one, this island's going to have its yearly celebration since Oyaji liberated the place and took it under his protection; and second, your assimilation party!"

Ace raised an eyebrow as they entered the galley. "Do all islands taken in by the captain have a celebration?"

"Nah, normally they just send a bunch of gifts. This island's got a lot of kids who love to party. So party it is!"

Ace tilted his head in understanding, but Thatch caught the small grin the teen was sporting. "Also, assimilation? Nice big, fancy vocab you got. Thanks for recognizing the fact that I was practically kidnapped."

Thatch's face coloured in embarrassment. "That- that's uncalled for, little _brother_.' He grinned when he noticed Ace duck his face as he moved to part ways. The chef snagged his arm. "Hold it! According to official Whitebeard Pirate code, newcomers must eat with the head chef for their first weeks!" He stated loudly, drawing attention of other pirates. Ace covered his face with his hands, head ducked to avoid eye contact from anyone. Thatch took the opportunity to drag Ace to a seat near the corner, gently shoving the newest member into a seat.

Ace peeked his eyes out using his hair as a way to prevent eye contact; his mouth twitched when he noticed that the pirates – _his_ crew members – adorned amused expressions as they shot looks at him. He heard Thatch let out a small laugh beside him; the raven-haired pirate scowled at the chef. "Was that necessary!?" He hissed, teeth clenched in an attempt to hide his embarrassment using anger.

Thatch only shot him a mischievous grin before waving to other people who entered the galley. "Yo! Over here!"

Ace kicked Thatch's leg underneath the table, and the chef's grin twitched slightly. Marco blinked blankly when he saw Ace covering his face and Thatch looking much too happy for a man whose paperwork was late yet another day. "So," the zoan user started, "how's this moron been treating you, Ace?"

"Marco is there such thing as a Whitebeard Pirate code," Ace asked, but the tone and speed he used made it sound like a statement. Thatch looked mildly horrified and shot the logia type a look. Marco blinked.

"What? Of course not. Who told you _Thatch_ he's been a member an official member of the crew for less than _a month don't blackmail him."_ Marco quickly cut off his own question and replaced it with a statement. Thatch seemed to shrink under Marco's look.

"Thatch has blackmailed who, now?" Someone's question floated in from behind them and Ace turned to see Izou approach them, fashionably late.

"Me, apparently," the teen muttered. Ace tilted his head at the sight of coloured ribbons in Izou's hands. "What are those?"

"Cloth, specifically silk," Izou said, taking a red ribbon and Thatch's arm, tying the silk on Thatch's arm and inspecting. "Stop fidgeting. You lost the bet."

"I never agreed to this!" Thatch whined, attempting to shake off Izou's grip. The kimono-clad commander tightened his grip and glared at Thatch.

Marco's mouth twitched. "You were drunk, Thatch. Of course you agreed to it; you predictably lost."

Ace blinked. When was this? Nevertheless, the freckled pirate grinned as Izou tied three more ribbons around Thatch's arms, all varying of colour. "Oh? What was this bet?"

Izou gave Ace a sweet smile. "If he lost, I get to design him a dress, and he has to wear it for the celebration at the island. I want to make sure they match his… _complexion_ , if you will."

Ace's eyes lit up in sheer joy. Both Marco and Izou looked amused at Ace's reaction, while Thatch tried to rip off the ribbons before Ace could get any ideas in his head to pass onto Izou.

"Ooh! Can I make a request for the colours?"

"Ace why!?" Thatch cried out, whimpering as Izou dug his nails into Thatch's jacket.

The sixteenth commander smiled kindly. "What do you have in mind, Ace?"

Ace was practically bouncing with excitement. "Reds! Oranges – bright, _bright_ oranges! And, and instead of that ridiculous yellow ribbon –"

" _Hey!"_

" – violet! Blue's like the sea! Just, bright colours! And since we're going to an island with filled with kids, they'll attack Thatch like he's a piñata!"

"What the hell!? Where is my say in this!?" Thatch complained, "I'll have you know that I'm human so I can actually get hurt here! I'm not a human piñata!" Thatch was going to continue but was silenced by Marco's pointed look and Izou's smile was one of danger over Ace's suggestions like he was seriously contemplating it.

"You don't have one," both commanders stated at the same time.

"Well, since the other reason we're going to the island is for your party," Izou began dryly, "would you also like to see the design for the dress?"

Ace's eyes were sparkling with joy. "Yes yes yes, _please?_ " Izou grinned and released Thatch from his grip, unfurling the ribbons he'd tied on Thatch along with him. The kimono-clad commander waved them away, off to get the designs from his room.

"Marco stop them."

"No. You brought this upon yourself, yoi. Speaking of which, why those colours, Ace? And… Thatch as a human piñata?" The zoan's mouth quirked upwards slightly. "I mean, I'm not opposed to the idea…"

"Kids at the island, right?" At Marco's nod, Ace continued. "Kids freakin' _adore_ bright colours. Makes 'em happy and distracted at the same time – Thatch is the human piñata because everything just works into his favour."

"My favour? _My_ favour? What the –"

"Hush, Thatch." The chef tried to protest, but a firm kick to his shin silenced him. Marco gained a look in his eyes, and continued. "Wouldn't you like to be surprised at what Izou's got prepared for Thatch instead of seeing the design, though?"

"Let our little brother do what he wants, Marco. Don't be a stick in the mud," Izou replied evenly, carrying a worn sketchbook in his hands. Ace's face burned, though it wasn't related to his ability. Izou smiled at Ace's reaction. "Here you go," he said, and gave Ace the book after flipping through the sketchbook to find the page.

"I can't believe it," Thatch said, wincing as he saw Ace smile at the designs. "I can't believe you guys are committing a coup against me."

"It's not a coup, Thatch. We're not overthrowing Oyaji, and even if we were to overthrow something, it would be an extremely large ego, yoi. Speaking of which, please tell me your idea is enough to suck out all of Thatch's ego."

"Thatch's ego is as big as the sea, and will only dissolve when the sea dries out," Izou said, ignoring the accusing finger from Thatch, "So, unfortunately, it'll never happen, Marco."

Ace exhaled softly, forefinger lightly tracing the designs. One glance at his face and it was clear that the raven was enthralled with Izou's designs. "Izou, can I…?" Ace swallowed, hand twitching in an urge to add _something_. "Can I draw something on here?"

Izou raised an eyebrow, but silently handed Ace one of the sketching pencils he clutched in his hand. The freckled teen's face scrunched up in concentration. The three commanders blinked in surprise. Izou and Marco peered at the sketches Ace was making; Thatch wanted to see, but decided against it mainly due to Izou stepping on his foot.

Marco and Izou's eyes widened in surprise as they watched Ace hastily sketched another design, mostly filled with flowy and light designs. One could easily tell that the cloth that was being suggested to be used was silk or velvet. Izou smothered an incoming laugh as he figured out Ace's plan. "Ace, you're a gift, you know?"

"What does _that_ mean?" Thatch cried out behind them.

"Ace, where did you learn all this, yoi?" Marco asked despite not knowing what Izou's reaction meant, all three promptly ignoring Thatch. The chef exaggerated a whimper.

"Well, you see, the plan is to get Thatch all pretty and crap, right? I'm taking the opportunity to make him the most cliché, prettiest girl the world has ever known; who knows, maybe the marines will even spare him because he's not committing a crime of being bad at colour co-ordination." Ace explained, finishing up his sketch and handing the book back to Izou. The kimono-clad commander gladly took it back and made sure to stay away an arm's reach from Thatch.

"What is this nefarious plan you're up to!?"

"Ace, you don't mean…" Marco said, not bothering to add the question. Ace nodded gleefully. "Thatch, yoi. Have fun."

"Wha – _you can't just leave it at that! Elaborate, damn it!_ " The chef turned to Izou for an answer, only to close his mouth as he noticed the sharpshooter looking _much_ too happy to even give him some type of support. He settled for glaring at Ace. "Traitor."

"Don't be a sore loser, Thatch," Izou lightly chastised as he whacked the chef's pompadour. "I'll be back later. I want to get started on this beauty." Ace and Marco waved him off.

Thatch scowled at the two, crossing him arms and making himself look like a child having a temper tantrum. "You two are evil. _Evil_."

"Consider it payback," Ace muttered, stretching his arms as Marco muttered some additional things Ace refused to acknowledge.

"I mean, purple, really? I like this yellow very much, thank you!"

"The name's violet," Ace instead said, "I'm not exactly sure why people call it purple, but each to their own, I guess."

Thatch rolled his eyes. "Oh, so smart. Anyway," he leaned in closer, resting his elbows on the table, "Ace, how do you know the kids would actually be attracted to the colours? I didn't take you to be the type to focus on such things."

The teen distractedly fiddled with his bracelet. "My own home island had its fair share of kids there whenever we went to visit the town, but we always got attention and they always cried and – ugh. I don't know how to deal with it, so…"

Marco silently noted the personal plural and hid his smile. "Ah. You found out they like bright colours, yoi?"

"Mhm." Ace nodded. "Didn't have to deal with them."

Thatch was the opposite of Marco, instead showing the smile he'd acquired. "Oh? Is our new, youngest brother good with kids?"

Ace spluttered, speechless. Thatch took the opportunity to continue teasing. "Who would've thought! Ace-kun here is good with kids! Oh, I can just see the image in my head! How _adorable_ you must be dealing with kids!"

"I-I," Ace stuttered out, face red in embarrassment. His mind had yet to catch up with Thatch's teasing, Marco speculated, but when it did, Thatch was going to need to swim in the sea for some time. "I am _not_."

Thatch clapped his hands in pure glee. "Really now? Are you sure – _hey!_ What are you doing – _get back you damn brat!"_

Ace cackled as he bounded down the deck, Thatch sprinting down his path. Anybody on deck could see the mild smoke coming from Thatch, but those who could see him chasing Ace were also granted the _immense_ pleasure of a smoldering pompadour and ashen clothes. Marco shook his head and let the smile on his face widen, despite knowing that here would likely be repercussions for the insanity that had been incurred.

"Not good with kids, huh, Ace?" Marco mused as he walked down to the Captain's Quarters, "I'm pretty sure _Thatch_ is a kid, so your objection's been invalidated." Marco chuckled. "Oyaji will have a fit."

* * *

He was sitting on a boulder when he felt it. The feeling of being watched.

Ace had his own set of personal rules. Rules, advice, a regime – whatever people who knew wanted to call them. He followed them, occasionally bending, but never breaking. Those rules he made were very useful and had saved his life more than once.

 _When you feel like you're being watched, you probably are_.

Ace didn't tense any of his muscles, however; didn't turn his head to find the predator, didn't pay attention to whoever was watching him at all. He merely sat on a particularly large boulder, eventually twisting and laying on his chest with his legs dangling up as he did a rough sketch of the ocean with the _Moby Dick_ in the middle-ground.

The ship had arrived at the island just seven hours ago, and when Ace was told that the island was small, he was expecting to see an island filled like Sabaody but as big as Low Town. It was a very, _very_ big surprise to see that the island was bigger than Dawn Island – _much_ bigger. Thatch had laughed at his reaction and said that the island _was_ small. Small for pirates that had been sailing the New World. His crew had only been on the New World for a month before they encountered Jinbe, and Ace could only think about what the Whitebeard's considered a large island.

 _"A month? Damn. Well, here's to your official welcoming to the New World! This place right here is Etsuko Island, one of Oyaji's territories!" Thatch said, clapping Ace on the back._

Ace didn't even blink where the loud sound of a tree branch breaking caught his attention from his contemplation, but he _did_ break down a tree to soften (read: harden) the fall of whatever was falling. He didn't expect a female drop onto the log, groaning about savage pirates and tightly clutching at a worn notebook.

"Ughh… Koala will kill me for ruining this scarf…" The female stood up, and Ace stepped back to give her more space, and to find out that _no_ , he wasn't there to rob or attack her. She tensed and Ace guessed she finally noticed his presence and quickly turned, holding a defensive stance.

Ace blankly blinked when he realized she was glaring at him. "Hi there?"

"Go away, pirate."

Ace frowned, displeased with the fact that she was posed to kill him despite not having any weapons – except the notebook. But a look at it made it clear that it was about to fall apart and wouldn't survive being thrown to a person made of _fire_.

Then again, Ace knew some people preferred hand-to-hand combat or strategic thinking.

(Ace also used the latter, but the meant planning for the future, and that wouldn't do for someone who lived like it was their last day.)

"Um," Ace coughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he attempted to sway the conversation. "Alright then. We had a bad start. The name's Ace; I'm a new member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Nice to meet you. Would you mind telling me your name?"

She snarled. Ace sighed, taking one step closer. The female growled and kept the notebook close to her chest. The scarf she mentioned had a gaping hole at the end, seams visibly breaking. Ace assumed it was the thing she was complaining about earlier. Ace raised his hands to look less intimidating. "Hey, now. No need for that." He tilted his head, and sighed. "Fine. I'll pretend nothing happened, alright?" With that, he casually turned around and walked back to his spot, lying back down on the smooth surface. He pretended not to hear the loud snapping of branches as the female tried to sneak away from the broken trees and branches.

What followed was the distinct sound of a notebook being opened, soon by the sound of charcoal on sketching paper. Ace felt a smirk tug on his lips. "You know, there are people who don't like having their picture taken without permission. Or in this case, being drawn." He craned his head to see the female's face go bright red and hide her face using the book. "At least give me a name. I _do_ have to explain to my captain why there's this girl stalking me and I don't want to keep calling you girl, female, or any other variation."

"… Mee."

"Huh?" Ace blinked apologetically. "Sorry, didn't hear you properly."

The girl scowled. "Mee. The name's Mee."

"Oh. Well," Ace jumped up, startling the female and approached her, one hand out in a shake. "Let's start over then. Nice to meet you, Mee. The name's Ace."

She hesitantly grasped his hand and shook it, eyes narrowing as the action occurred. "You're a very interesting pirate."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You don't have a very good opinion of pirates then?"

"Why should I, after all that's gone on here?"

It was a rhetorical question and they both knew it, but Ace was a smartass. "Well, the thing is, I don't really know what's happened. But hey, that's not really a reason to judge them all the same, no?

 _Hypocrite_ , Sabo's voice playfully teased him.

Mee sighed, clearly irritated. "Fine, fine. I'll make an effort."

 _No she won't._

 _How about you shut it, Sabo? Don't you think I know that?_

 _Rude. And no, you don't._

The sound of people calling his name caught Ace's attention; it was faint, but he could distinctly hear it, and catalogued it being Izou who was searching from him. "Ah, well. Time to go." Ace walked away from Mee, who became extremely irritated at being walked-out on, "The crew's looking for me. See you later."

"Hang – hang on!" She shouted despite being only eight feet away from each other. "That's – that's not nice!"

Ace shrugged, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "'m a pirate, remember? Not meant to be nice."

"Your behaviour earlier suggested otherwise! Now," she crossed her arms and Ace could tell she was glaring, "you can't just leave! I was doing a sketch of you!" Ace turned around and saw one of her hands twitching, likely her dominant hand. "You can't just back off!"

"I didn't even agree to it!"

"Grow up, pirate! You don't get to have a choice."

"Wha – " Ace's face scrunched up. "What the hell is this? How'd you feel if I decided to just sketch you without permission? Be a model?" Mee's face blanched, and Ace crossed his arms in victory. "That's right. Now, I really got to go." He heard her splutter and for the first time, call out his name, but Ace ignored it and walked back to the village, going to almost the exact place he left the others.

A hand grapsed his arm and Ace looked up in alarm. Izou's face was calm and placid, but there was a flash of relief that Ace caught before it become calm. "There you are," Izou said. "Good thing you're back. I'm about to force Thatch into the dress." One of the commander's eyebrow's raised. "I also did your request; it won't look to good since it's last minute but…"

Ace grinned. "That's fine – as long as I can do my thing, no one will notice. Hell, even if I didn't, they still wouldn't notice."

A smirk. "I'll make sure to ask Haruta for a Visual Den-Den, I suppose?" Izou asked, releasing Ace's arm as they walked back to the ship, dodging handsy siblings and questionable topics of conversation.

Ace nodded. "It's suggested. I don't think anyone wants to forget what I'll be doing."

Izou scoffed. "Oh, Ace. You're unforgettable regardless. Just looking for more ways to worm into our hearts, huh?" Izou chuckled and ruffled Ace's raven locks when the younger pirate blushed red and grumbled about 'stupid idiots'. They reached Izou's door, and the older pirate let Ace in first. The freckled teen nearly choked on his laughter as he saw Thatch claw at the window at the back of Izou's room, clearly trying to escape his fate.

Thatch had noticed him the moment he stepped inside the room. "Ace, help me!"

Ace gave the chef a flat stare. "No."

"No need to ask for additional help, Thatch," Izou said smoothly, "I'm all the help you need. Ace is just here to watch the door for a bit. He doesn't actually get to see the… _transformation,_ let's say." Izou looked towards Ace. "Would you kindly, Ace?"

Ace nodded, ignoring Thatch's outburst and stepped out, shutting the door behind him before leaning on the door. He winced lightly at the sudden force the door threatened to let loose, and Ace could only imagine what the _hell_ Izou was doing. Ace shuddered, glad that he wasn't on the receiving end. He chatted with passing crewmembers – _siblings,_ Ace reminded himself – before a voice on the other side caught his attention. He blinked, unable to hear what the person said. "Sorry, couldn't hear you! Mind saying that again?"

"Go to the plaza. We'll meet you there!" Ace identified that as Izou.

"No, no _don't go to the plaza! Ace please!"_ The teen's mouth curled into a smile as he heard Thatch's melodramatic cries, but he pretended to only hear Izou and responded accordingly.

A loud thud came from the room after Ace took a few steps; it was muffled, but still ridiculously loud. Ace whistled as casually as he possibly could after hearing a possible massacre. Ace blinked when he got off the _Moby Dick_ , because now it was nearly dusk, and when he entered the ship earlier it was midday.

"Time works oddly here in the New World, yoi," someone said. Ace blinked to see Marco beside him, hands stuffed into his pockets as his lazy eyes observed the skies. "I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yeah… Just, not like this. Is this normal on this island – for the time to suddenly jump about several hours?"

"Yes. The time itself is still the same, it's just the sun's position. It's nineteen fourty-two, actually. When the sun was up, it was about eighteen-hundred," Marco explained giving Ace approximated times to give him an understanding on how time works.

"… I'm still confused, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt I understand."

Marco sighed. "Of course you will. We should get to the plaza. Rakuyo's prepared something for you, and everyone's excited for Izou's big reveal."

Ace laughed as they began walking, this time clear of any excited siblings or advertising merchants. "Of course everyone's excited for Izou's big reveal; everyone heard Thatch's outbursts when helped Izou design the dress. And from what I've gathered, the news spreads like wildfire in this crew."

"You would know what a wildfire is, wouldn't you?" Marco asked. Ace gave him a toothy grin, but didn't respond, because that would be biting the bait and Ace _wasn't an idiot_.

"What is this thing Commander Rakuyo have planned for me, anyway?" Ace asked, munching an apple from who-knows-where.

Marco lightly cuffed the back of his head, ignoring the yelp and complaint that followed. "First of all, don't call Rakuyo 'Commander' when you clearly talk to me, Izou, Thatch and Haruta without them. It makes him uncomfortable; it makes _all_ the commanders uncomfortable." He waved Ace off when the raven opened his mouth to retort. "Second, you'll see in a second because we're here."

Ace's mouth opened slightly as he realized that there were tall, almost dragon-like lamps that were held by a long, wooden pole surrounding the major perimeter of the plaza. They were open at the top, making it easy to light a flame in it but closed around the circumference to prevent any wind or strong movements snuff the fire out.

Someone jumped in beside his and Marco's walk, moving in stride. "Ace~" Haruta chirped happily, and Ace only half-noticed the Twelfth Commander was holding a Den-Den Mushi. "Good. You're here. Fossa's gotten antsy and is threatening to light the lamps themselves, height be damned of the lamps be damned." He pointed out Fossa himself, who waved innocently back. "Don't trust that nice face, Ace. He's luring you into a sense of protection, and then he strikes with whacking you in the head for not doing your work."

"Haruta, just because that's _exactly what you did_ when you first joined the crew doesn't mean Fossa's going to do the same thing to Ace, yoi," Marco chastised, though amusement danced in his eyes.

Ace merely blinked, the corner of his mouth hardening as he comprehended Haruta's sentence. "Is… is that really a good thing to say after I refused to join the crew for three – almost four – months?"

Haruta's face froe, the smile he had suddenly looking much, _much_ less happy than it was. Ace regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Marco pursed his mouth, and Ace felt his shame multiply ten-fold. Then, almost as if he could sense Ace's unease, Marco ruffled Ace's lock and smiled caringly towards the freckled pirate. "It's alright, Ace," Marco reassured him. "Haruta's just come to the realization that you actually like us." Ace could hear the underlying question.

 _You do, right?_

Ace forced a smile, looking a tad sheepish and rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, you guys. I'm not the type to make spontaneous decisions, and when I do, I don't make them lightly, so…"

"Heh," Haruta chuckled, seemingly recovered from his shock and was slightly awkward when he responded, "it's fine. Marco's right – it just hit me that you really do care!" Haruta grinned and winked at Ace, who felt blood rush to his face and he ducked his head. "Anyways, Ace. Light those suckers on fire!"

Ace grinned, thankful for the encouragement. He took a moment to glance at the two commanders before he started running, the feeling of adrenaline rush through his veins as ran ahead of the other two, fire coating his arms as he lurched to a stop, his knees bent. Ace twisted his body and his right hand clenched into a fist, he sent the fist flying.

 _"Hiken!_ "

The flames suddenly grew brighter and stronger, the fire coating his arms dissipating and being concentrated on the flying form of fire. Ace flicked his hand, and the flames separated, turning into smaller, spherical like forms, and Ace directed them to fly into the canister-like candles on top of the lamps. Upon lighting the candle, the entire form of the dragonesque lit up like a firework, catching everybody's attention. The fire illuminated shape wonderfully, showing off even the most minute details. The children shouted happily, some reaching out eagerly, wanting to touch the lantern. Ace laughed, the fire lighting up his features as some of the pirates of the Moby Dick saw Ace smile for the first time, saw him _laugh_. The cheering grew in volume, and when Ace heard the requests for _more lights, more colours, more more more,_ he couldn't find it in him self to deny their requests, flame-like serpents escaped his fingertips and encircled the people there, dancing and playing and lighting up the whole plaza.

"Hey, everyone!" Someone shouted out, "look! By the docks!" They looked over the direction, and the first thing they saw was Izou; the commander looked _incredibly_ smug and was sporting an innocent smile. Ace learned that whenever Izou had a smile that looked like that, it meant things were going to happen.

(Things happened.)

Everyone – _everyone_ – had started clapping, whistling and laughing the moment someone pointed out Thatch had finally been released from Izou's grasp, and what a _sight_ he had been.

Bright pastel blues that stood out against the flickering orange fire, fluorescent violets as accents, smooth pale red's under the layers of blue's, naturally blending with the violet. Thatch's hair had obviously been redone; instead of the normal pompadour, it was let down and _braided and clipped_ and Ace couldn't help but _laugh_ because Thatch looked very, very scared and he _should be_. Onn his head was a headband-like cloth, seemingly a different material than the others, but only those with a keen eye or had seen the material before could tell the difference. Izou carefully shoved Thatch forward every now and then, and Ace had come to the realization the chef was wearing heels and was prone to failing with every step.

After a while, Ace abandoned the plaza, moving into the outer forest for some silence. The lights from the festival contrasted with the dark hues of the tree leaves, and Ace felt at peace. He heard the timid shuffling of feet and Ace let out s breathless laugh. He turned around to see some of the island's children, and they were collectively clasping their hands together, a clear sign to Ace. "Mister, could you do more?" They asked him.

"More? More of what?" Ace asked, despite knowing the answer.

"More lights!" They all collectively said, and Ace found it adorable.

The logia winked, before settling down in a more comfortable sitting position and then spread his arms, his hands open and releasing green, floaty lights that mingled with the orange light in the distance behind them. The children looked so, _incredibly_ happy and they just jumped and clapped and celebrated, thanking Ace and how he was wonderful and Ace felt _appreciated and wanted_. The freckled pirate laughed and smiled, producing more colours and letting them fly and _inspiring_ them to reach for the highest firefly; the firefly being so high up in the sky that Whitebeard would be the only one who would be able to reach it. This didn't deter the children, however, and instead took it as encouragement and they _reached for the stars_.

Ace, for the first time in his life, truly felt at _home_.

Later on, when it was truly dark upon confirmation of time with Marco, he noticed a barely familiar figure waving for his attention; when he focused his sight over the general area, his eyes widened slightly as he realized it was the girl who looked ready to start shit earlier. Mee was waving at him, and once she noticed she had obtained his attention

"So… What do you want?" Ace asked, mouth quirking as he took in her body language – tense and nervous, but ready to kick someone's ass.

"Look, I'm – I'm sorry, alright?" Mee hesitantly said, wincing slightly as she said it. Ace could notice that her feet were edging away _just_ enough for him to notice, clearly bolting at the first sign of rejection. "About the whole 'You're rude' and 'I chose you as my subject matter' thing. I wasn't trying to be rude." Ace waved his hand calmly.

"It's fine. You fell from a tree, destroyed your scarf and had me snark at you. Just please don't just start drawing me. Randomly. Without permission." He furrowed his brows. "You get the deal."

Mee nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, of course! With that said," she leaned in slightly closer to Ace, "will you _please_ let me do a sketch of you? I… I want to get better and you'd be a good model."

"Why, exactly, would I be a good model for you to try?" Ace questioned, tone slightly exasperated.

"You're unique!" She thrust a hand out to him, as if it would emphasize her point. It didn't, which left her grumbling about Ace's idiocy for a few moments before focusing once again. "It's – it's hard to explain. Artist intuition, alright?"

Ace stared at her for a few, awkward moments, before shifting and sighing. "Fine, then. Whatever. Just… let me know when you start alright? Otherwise, bad things happen and we don't need bad things happening."

Her mouth twitched. "Fine. You choose your spot and I'll follow. You won't even know I'm there."

Ace grinned. "I doubt that. Just don't keep being creepy, alright? It causes awkwardness and I don't have time for that."

The next day, Ace heard the not-so-conspicuous sound of branches snapping and leaves rustling, and Ace heaved a sigh before pretending not to know Mee had arrived. She was grumbling about him being 'secretive and sneaky' and Ace had a hard time holding in his laughter – which likely succeeded because she hadn't made a noise or action that said she had heard him.

"Stop fidgeting!" She suddenly barked in the silence, instantly snapping Ace from his trance _just_ as he was going to get the angle right. His eye twitched in annoyance.

"I'm not fidgeting."

"Yes you are," she said, irritated. Her tone was making Ace annoyed.

"You should really learn patience."

"Me? _You're_ the pirate here!"

"What does _that_ mean!?"

For the next three days, for two hours straight and then another two hours after a six-hour break, Ace and Mee continued their routine. Ace would go over to his preferred spot on the cliff and he'd hear Mee come by minutes later. They occasionally talked, conversing about menial things and talking about their family and, the most often, argued. On some hours, they just sat – or in Ace's case, laid – in silence, basking in nature and the smell of salt water. On the final day, just half an hour before the Whitebeard Pirates and, subsequently Ace, would depart, Mee was fidgeting and kept playing with her newly-mended scarf (courtesy of Izou).

"You okay?" Ace asked.

Mee nodded, who was now clearly biting her bottom lip. "Yeah, just…" She shook her head before presenting her hand, which was clutching sheets of paper. Ace didn't need an explanation to know what they were, and what was on them. "These are yours."

"… No, no they aren't," Ace said slowly, watching how Mee's eyes narrow in irritation; the girl needed to learn patience and self-control. "Those are _yours_. By your, I mean, _you_ drew them, _you_ took the time to do it, ergo, _you_ own it."

"I think you've forgotten that the drawings are of _you_ –"

"So?" Ace shrugged, cutting her off. "I mean, yeah, it's weird to have an almost complete stranger have sketches of me, but I agreed to it, and you drew them. Sure, I'm the character, but you still drew it." He hastily added an explanation when she drew her fist back to whack him – Ace knew that she couldn't hurt him, but he wasn't taking any chances. "Stop looking at me like that, Mee."

"… Hey."

"What?"

"… My name's not Mee."

Ace blinked. "I'm pretty sure you said Mee when you introduced yourself," he deadpanned, clearly either not amused or simply not getting it.

Mee huffed impatiently, crossing her arms, barely noticing that the papers were still in her hand and just managing to avoid crumpling them. "Mee. Isn't. My. Name."

"… Um," Ace paused.

"Ugh!" She complained, looking ready to pull her hair in irritation. "Do I have to explain everything?"

"No, not really."

"Stop making this so difficult!"

"Hey," Ace said, looking mildly offended, "I'm just here, humouring whatever it is you want to say! Don't pin this on me!"

Mee's fists clenched, and Ace only looked on calmly as her face turned into one of sudden realization that she crumpled her paper. She hissed before glaring back at Ace. "This is your fault!"

"Please just get to the point. I can see people coming out of various hotels and houses and I don't want them to think I pissed you off."

" _You have!"_ At Ace's irritated glare, Mee huffed and squared her shoulders. "As I said, my name's not Mee. It's just a nickname."

"… Okay? So?" Ace dodged the pencil that was thrown at him, and he raised a questioning eyebrow. "I thought you didn't condone random violence?"

"That wasn't random, it's justified. You're annoying me. Regardless, Mee's not my real name. It's –"

"Hey now. There's no need." Mee looked at Ace, irritably tired. "You're uncomfortable telling me your name because in the four-and-quarter days I've known you, it's Mee. It's weird, telling someone that your name isn't that because that's what I've called you. You don't have to tell me your name," Ace explained, ignoring the prickling feeling the back of his mind at how _he should be afraid he was a demon a monster he didn't deserve to  live._

"… Still. Take this."

Ace's face scrunched up. "What, that crumpled thing?" He flashed a smile at her, clearly mocking. "But no, seriously. It's yours." He tilted his head. "You wanted to practice right?" At her nod, he jerked his head. "Then use that as a reference. Keep it. Use it. Practice with it. _You will get better_."

Mee scowled, though it lacked the usual intensity. "And how are you so sure?"

Ace rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he eyes wandered over. He could see Thatch complaining to Marco and the blonde shoving him away. "Fine then. In two years, let's meet up somewhere."

"Meet up? _Somewhere?_ What makes you think I plan on setting sail _anywhere?_ "

"Captain's intuition," Ace said, grinning smugly as Mee realized his words and connected it to hers. "Somewhere. We'll meet up. I know it." He tipped his hat to the side. "We _are_ the Whitebeard Pirates, after all."

"… What do we do in two years?"

"In the years before we meet again, practice. Get better. Be the best the world's ever known. Let your name get to loud that even those damned Celestial Dragons can hear it. Then, we meet in three years. I'll show you personally that you've gotten better… with this." He flashed a single sheet of folded paper. Mee blinked before quickly shuffling through the papers in her hand.

"When did you steal that?" Mee asked, an accusing look in her eyes.

Ace scoffed, faking an insulted look. "Rude. You offered it to me." His eyes softened. "Seriously. Let's meet up in two years, alright?" He waved the paper around. "Hide these. Put them away after you use them. Don't look at them. Just practice." He stepped back, head slightly bowed and tipping his hat enough to hide his face, which was sporting an incredibly smug expression. "Or I'll burn them."

" _What!?_ "

Ace's laughter was the last thing she heard from him before he jumped onboard the ship and disappearing on deck.

* * *

 _(When they died, they left no instructions – just a legacy to protect.)_

* * *

 ** _1522_**

"… Sabo-kun?"

"Eh?" The Chief of Staff craned his neck to see a blonde woman holding a stack of papers, face unsure; he noticed that she was biting her lip. "Miu?" Sabo turned his body from the railing to properly face the female.

Miu visibly bit the inside of her cheek, hesitance now clear to Sabo. Despite that, she took a deep breath. "Sabo-kun. Are you… alright?"

Sabo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yes, thank you for asking. It's been almost three months, after all."

Miu narrowed her eyes, and Sabo blinked blankly. "That's not what I meant."

"What do you –" Sabo began to protest, but a sharp look from Miu silenced him and his shoulder's slumped. "I… I doubt I'll ever be okay from that, Mee."

"Clearly; lying to the psychologist wasn't exactly your finest moment," Miu replied, adjusting her glasses to rest on her nose. "You need to talk to me, Sabo. I joined this mission for a reason."

Sabo clenched his fists, feeling his nails prick through the fabric of his gloves, his hat shadowing his eyes. Of course he knew that – Miu disliked getting into the fray unless necessary. "He – he was my _brother_ , Mee. My _brother_. I don't even know if _Luffy's_ alive _,_ and, and –"

"Was?" She cut in sharply, glasses off and her eyes gleamed. " _Was?_ Forgive my tardiness, Sabo. I wasn't aware you were no longer brothers. I was under the impression that once you swore to become siblings, you would be for so long the rest agree."

Sabo breath hitched as he took in her words. "This isn't your fault, Sabo." She continued, voice quiet and tone softer. "I know you've heard it, and I know that you know it, but it doesn't mean you truly believe it." She grasped his shoulders and shook him slightly; something dropped into his glove, feeling it seep into the leather.

The blonde woman didn't notice his tears, or simply didn't acknowledge them – regardless, he was thankful. "Ace and Luffy were – _are_ – my brothers. They saved each other… what did I do?"

Miu slapped his face lightly, lips pursed in obvious annoyance. "What's that one thing you always said after you regained your memories?" When he didn't respond, she repeated the action, though she out more force into it. "Well?"

"We would… we would never live with regrets. To do whatever made us happy. To be _free_."

"Unless we have very different version of regret, I'm pretty sure you thinking about all the ways you could've helped counts as regret."

Sabo recoiled, one hand grasping the railing behind him. His mouth was set in a hard line.

"And has it occurred to you that you've helped out? The Army might not know Portgas D. Ace's entire history on the seas, but I'm willing to bet that, at some point, he's visited an island that we've liberated. An island we've set free from the government – a place he was able to dock and not be captured. Same with Luffy." She sighed, moving to stand beside Sabo and leaning on the railing, taking in the feeling of the wind on her face. "And even then. You can't do anything about the past, but you can help shape the future." She tilted her head to face Sabo, the latter's face unreadable. "If Ace's death affected Luffy the same way it affected you, with changes, then he most certainly shaped the future alongside his captain."

Sabo hadn't responded. His eyes were unfocused, mouth slightly ajar. Miu sighed, but a smile crept unto her face and her eyes gleamed with excitement. "… Do you remember Etsuko Island, Sabo?"

"I… Yeah, I do." He tilted his head slightly, hat almost toppling off. He briefly recalled being part of the group sent to protect the civilians and take out any force that wasn't an ally. "Why?"

"Were you guys informed that the place was taken over by a bunch of unruly pirates a few months after the marine base was taken down?"

Sabo blinked, then squinted his eyes, as if it would aide him recall the memory. "Yeah. Dragon-san informed us about it and we were preparing to get going until he told us to cancel battle preparations, and only the battle preparations. Said it was fine and nothing to worry about. Why? And why are you smiling?"

"Before you guys came back to check on us, I met a pirate." At Sabo's alarmed and stern face, she laughed. "No, no not like that! Anyways, this pirate I met was _after_ the bunch of unruly pirates – this person's crew took 'em out. Anyway. Guy knew how to draw. Something I didn't know until _after_ he left." She went silent for a few moments to observe Sabo. The Chief of Staff had gone slightly pale and his grip on the railing loosened; she knew what he was thinking of without a doubt in her mind. "Told me that if I practiced, I'd get better. Better than I ever expected."

"Your drawings are practically photographs without colour, Mee," Sabo stated, looking at her to _get to the point_.

Miu smirked. "Why, thank you! Anyways, this pirate left an impression. Not just on me, but the whole island! Kids, adults, elders – you name it, they were inspired. Mostly us kids and teens who needed a pick-me-up. Probably didn't notice it, but he left a legacy behind. For me, that was a legacy to spread the beauty of art." Upon seeing Sabo's stare, she continued. "You want to show the world that your brother wasn't just the son of the Pirate King. No, you want to show the world that he was so much more than that. A son to the Strongest Man in the World, a leader in his crew… and a brother to two kids that all needed the same thing: a family. You want the world to remember Portgas D. Ace; Fire Fist, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Not _Gold_ Ace, the demon son of the Pirate King."

Sabo's hands clenched at the last part. She gave him a flickered expression. "I heard they've begun basic reparations at Marineford; their materials aren't really guarded and the buildings could use a much better design, don't you think?"

" _What._ "

Miu shrugged innocently, slipping her glasses on once more and her facial expression changing to act more like a professional than someone who just lectured their second-in-command to _vandalize_ something. "What? I'm quite sure I merely told you how to cope with your guilt and other feelings. No need to thank me, Sabo-kun. I'll inform both Koala-chan and Hack-kun about this _much_ needed psyche plan I've set." A bored look rested in her eyes, though Sabo could tell it was a façade. "Please make sure you are safe in this mission. I must go report to Dragon-san." Before she left the top deck, and turned to look at Sabo once more. "Clarification: this mission will take three weeks, yes?"

Sabo clasped his hands together innocently, head tilted in glaringly faked contemplation. "No, change of plans actually, Miu." He smiled at her blank stare. "Inform Dragon-san that the mission will take _six_ weeks instead, if you graciously would."

A grin. "Of course, Sabo-kun."

* * *

"Hell yeah! Break time!"

"Freaking finally. I'm starving."

"Hey, quite down there. If any of those Marine Captain's hear us making a fuss, they'll cut our break."

"That's bull."

"It's happened. Now, hurry up. I actually want to be able to eat and sit under some shade, you know?"

He wrinkled his nose as he listened to the various comments of the constructors; half of him was tempted to just destroy everything, if only to piss of the marines. Sabo sat up and stretched, fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Oi."

Sabo craned his neck to see one of the construction workers looking at him. "Mm?"

"It's break time, you know."

"Ah, yeah," Sabo responded, "I heard. Just gotta do something, first. Really important."

The construction worker blinked at him incredulously, but nevertheless shrugged and turned his back to start walking to the shade. "Whatever. Just lettin' ya know, since we only get three breaks. Don't waste your time. Work starts again in fourty-five."

Sabo nodded his head in understanding, momentarily forgetting that the man wasn't looking at him before letting out a hum. After a quick inspection to ensure that no one would spot him, Sabo quickly and quietly dashed to the northern section of the construction, directly where the sun was currently projecting the majority of it's rays.

He winced as the bright light reached his eyes. Grumbling, he reached into his pocket and he pulled out his goggles, thankful that for the lens-tint modification. Adjusting the goggles, he grinned and finally took a quick look.

 _"I can't believe this."_

 _"What's so hard to believe, Koala? Miu even told me it's instrumental to my health! Nothing bad will happen."_

 _"Hmph. Famous last words, Sabo."_

 _"Aw, you too, Hack?"_

 _"Indeed."_

 _"Ugh. Anyway, all you guys need to do and get me the items. That's it. I'll handle the rest; you can guys can head on back to base if you want."_

 _"And miss out on the show? No way. We'll stick around with a Den-Den and everything. Right, Hack?"_

 _"Hm. Of course."_

"Oh Koala, Hack," Sabo murmured as he climbed over large pieces of concrete and building supplies, "you two are the best." He grinned as he carefully propped the cans of paint open, almost hearing Koala's retort of "Of course we are!" in his mind as he carried the many cans of paint near the front of the wall. "Fourty-five minutes," he muttered, "fourty-five… Ugh." He threw his arms up in the air in irritation. "That's barely enough time to actually paint the base colours! Never mind the details…"

"Aw, so I don't get to help?"

Sabo's eye twitched, though a smile graced his features. "Of course you can! Thing is, I don't think Miu's given you a crash course."

"Pah," Koala muttered, rolling her eyes, "who cares? I'm quite good at art, actually."

Sabo blinked blankly. Koala returned the favour. Sabo threw his arms up. "You know what? I'll take your word for it. Now," he reached into one of his numerous pockets and took out sheets of neatly folded, worn paper. He quickly shuffled through them before choosing three sheets. "So. Just follow the plan. Not too hard, right Koala?"

The female sniffed disdainfully at his comment. " _You're_ the one that has a hard time following a plan. But yes, it's easy." She glanced at the three variations of Portgas D. Ace's wanted poster. "So. The pose?"

Sabo waved her off as he opened the tins of paint. "Follow my lead, but…" He jerked his face towards the middle poster, "that pose, with this one."

"Alrighty; thank you." Koala stole the last of the tins Sabo had been opening and had already begun to climb the scaffolding, and begun to paint at the top so that the colours that had dripped down could be covered with another layer. "Black, right? Not dark brown?"

"You got it right the first time!" Sabo shouted back as he dashed up the other scaffolding. He reached the top and paused. Envisioning the design in his mind, he let out a deep breath and jumped, his arm coated with black as he clawed his haki-coated hand into one of the walls, holding onto it as he haphazardly spilled paint everywhere. Uncaring whether the colours got onto his clothing, Sabo threw the tin of paint carelessly into the air, paint spilling everywhere as he caught the now-empty tin. Sabo almost laughed when he heard Koala's shriek of ' _My clothes, you idiot!' reach his ears._

"Sabo, do you want a background to this?"

"Let me handle it! Just do the form and colours!" He shouted back, jumping back towards the scaffolding as he inspected his 'handiwork' It was surprisingly neat, despite having thrown a tin of black paint. It was near the top, and Sabo felt a grin slip onto place as he grabbed a tin of orange and ran up towards the top of the building, taking a rope from one of his pockets and tying it around the top. With one hand holding onto a sealed tin can, and the other grasping at the rope, Sabo made periodic jumps downward to splash paint.

Sabo laughed whenever his companion complained about the amount of paint making its way onto her clothes, but knew she didn't mind _too_ much. They continued this for the next half hour, with the occasional comment from Hack, courtesy of Koala's Den-Den Mushi. It made the time go fast, and by the last fifteen, Sabo was on the verge of a panic.

"Koala! You have red, blue and yellow, right?"

"Let me check… Yeah! You want 'em?"

Sabo shook his head before answering. "Leave 'em there! Finish up on the bottom, would you? I just need to add something…" His eye twitched as he tried to figure out the proper placement for the background he'd though of. TO him, everything went silent as he tried to figure out how to place the design without ruining their hard work.

"Sabo?" Koala asked, clearly worried for her companion. The blonde shook his head.

"I'm fine. Promise." He grinned at her. "Finish up, will you?"

"Hey! Like you're one to talk!" Regardless, she continued adding the finer details of blue's and whites near the bottom portion. Sabo dashed upwards the top, using his rope to jump down the middle. He had three tins of paint tied to his waist, one a primary colour. Carefully prying the lids off, he jumped to the right side of their painting and actually used a brush, dipping it into the red and designing a letter, doing so for each colour. He struggled with doing the blue; Sabo's hands were shaking, more so than one's should be if they were merely nervous about painting over a detail.

 _Portgas D. Ace – Dead._

 _Monkey D. Luffy – Presumed Dead_

 _Couldn't save didn't help I forgot I forgot whydidIforget-_

Sabo's grip on his brush tightened, snapping the brush into two, useless pieces. With a grumble, he took a glove off and dipped it into the paint and used it as the brush instead, albeit much less effective. He was on the yellow when the earlier sound of a harsh ringing sound alerted both Koala's and Sabo's attention. The female's mouth thinned into a line before turning her attention back to her final details. Sabo's eyes narrowed, straining his ears.

 _"Back to work!"_

 _"Get back to building, or I'll use ya as an example!"_

 _"Finish that up and get back to work, huh? The sooner, the better."_

The words he could hear disgusted him, Sabo confirmed. The last comment was significantly better than the former two, but it still held a hint of anger and the tone of power. Sabo really hated it. He was cleaning the yellow's design when he heard talking begin again.

 _"The hell? Are we missing someone?"_

 _"Someone? More like things. Where the hell are my gloves?"_

 _"Hang on, do you guys hear that?"_

Sabo's breath hitched, and a glance at Koala's worried expression confirmed what he had heard. They made eye contact and nodded. The female dashed away while Sabo finished up and jumped down, unclasping the tins of paint and carefully setting them on the ground to make sure they didn't affect their final piece. Running after Koala, he fished out a Visual Den-Den Mushi, putting it up to his eye to make sure the Den-Den got the correct visual he wanted to see. After a series of sounds Sabo couldn't even dream of copying, it went back to sleep.

Sabo stood there for one moment, looking at the piece before turning his back and continued his way, slipping his goggles off and hat on. "You owe me," Sabo muttered, "I did your portrait. Can't really call it a self-portrait if you didn't do it, right?" A small smile was on his face as he imagined his response.

… He'd let the marines figure it out themselves.

* * *

He nearly choked when he saw it.

Rayleigh had brought two newspapers everyday since training began, one for him to read and the other for Luffy. The rubber pirate had started a habit to read the paper, as it was his only access to world news other than Hancock and Rayleigh.

Luffy swallowed thickly before focusing on the article.

 _'… during reparations at the base of Marineford from the Whitebeard War, construction workers and marines made a shocking discovery … An image painted … Portgas D. Ace.'_

Luffy exhaled, lessening his grip on the paper lest he broke it, because he knew that Rayleigh wouldn't give him another one. Taking another deep breath, he re-read the last sentence.

 _'… An image painted onto the front of Marineford base. While clearly hard to identity up-close, marines who saw it from far away had confirmed early suspicions: an image of Portgas D. Ace.'_

Luffy – a teen, a _child_ , who had recently lost his brother, his only family and his crew – started _laughing_. He brought a hand to his mouth to stop himself, but the laughter soon turned into stifled crying as he looked at the image provided within.

It was Ace, back turned and proudfully showing off his Whitebeard tattoo, with his face looking back and was holding a confident, yet caring grin. His hands were on fire, the right hand raised to adjust the hat on his head, and the other down beside him. The bottom portion was surrounded by flames, as well. The intensity of the flames was made obvious by the colours of white and blue, igniting Ace's passion within. The arm tattoo on Ace's arm was slightly different – instead of a regular crossed out S, it was outlined by crossbones instead, similar to a Jolly Roger. What really caught Luffy's heart so was the background behind Ace. It was hidden by the pose, but upon careful inspection one could find it. However, it was something very, very few people knew about.

 _'… Construction workers have stated that the paint is close to impossible to remove, requiring specialized equipment and materials. It's not been said what the plan is, but if they plan to destroy the wall and rebuild it, completion will be delayed by an approximate of five months …'_

Luffy grabbed a knife and carefully cut out the picture, throwing the rest of the article into the flames. Then, he dashed into the room Hancock declared his, carefully pinning the picture up the wall. That way, he'd never forget.

 _A S L_

* * *

 _It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see._


End file.
